When a steelhead river has just crested after a big rain and is beginning to drop, it’s usually still too high to fish with traditional methods. But that doesn’t mean you can’t catch fish!

When flows are up, you just need to switch tactics and get a little “catfishy” in your approach. Plunking fits that bill nicely and will help you catch fish when the flows are up.

First, a quick look at a simple plunking rig. The idea here is to use enough weight to anchor your gear to the bottom (unlike normal steelhead fishing methods, we don’t want it to drift while plunking) and wait for the fish to come to you.

I’ll always use some sort of big and loud attractor like a Size 2-4 Spin-N-Glo or Flashing & Spinning Cheater. You can go with just this and catch steelies but it never hurts to add a little bonus bait on there — roe, sand shrimp, etc. work well.

High water steelhead will avoid the heavy flows out in the middle of the river and instead travel narrow lanes that are very close to shore.

That’s where you want to cast your rig. It depends on the size of the river, but shorter casts are always better when the water’s up. Sometimes you’ll need to toss 20 feet out and others you’ll only need to make a 5-foot lob.

Plunking is a relaxing, often social affair in which you put your rod in a holder or a forked stick and then plop down on a nice chair and shoot the breeze with your fellow anglers. Or, when it’s wet, you can hang out inside the truck.

Some anglers put a bell on their rod to signal when they get a bite. Speaking of rods, for plunking you’ll need a stouter outfit than you’d normally run for steelhead because you’ll need heavy lead to keep your gear put.

I like a 12-25 lb outfit with 40-pound braid. Spinning or casting is fine…that’s up to personal preference.

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Sadly, we can’t always have perfect “steelie green” water conditions on the river. There are times when the water is still way up high and a few days away from ideal…but you just have to fish anyway. What to do?

Go Plunking, that’s what!

Plunking is a lot like glorified catfishing: You toss your gear out and put your rod in a holder or against a forked stick and wait for a bite. Not exactly what you imagine when you think about steelhead fishing, but it can actually be pretty fun…and productive!

Timing

Each river has its own schedule for dropping and clearing, but the best time to plunk is usually 1 to 5 days after the high water has peaked. You definitely want to fish when the water is on the drop (steelies don’t usually bite very well on a rising river) and you need the river to have more green than brown color to it. It will still probably be up in the trees and you’ll often be dealing with only a foot of visibility or so, but that’s ok.

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Location

Most plunking is done on the lower sections of rivers, where the chance at fresh migrating steelhead is best. In high water, steelhead will avoid the main channel and instead migrate up the soft edges on the shallow side of the river. Inside bends are best and you usually don’t have to cast more than about 20 feet out. In some cases, the fish will be right at your feet, so avoid the urge to cast long distances. High water looks intimidating, but in reality, you can eliminate 99 percent of the river and just concentrate your efforts on the near-shore areas that feature less current.

Tackle & Technique

The idea here is to find a nice travel lane and anchor your gear right in the middle of it so migrating fish have no choice but to see your offering. Unlike traditional steelhead fishing, in which we normally want our gear drifting along the bottom, plunking calls for keeping your bait in one spot. In high water, that means using big sinkers — sometimes up to 10 ounces, depending on the spot. You’ll need much heavier gear than you are used to for this technique, so using a standard 8- to 17-pound rated outfit for plunking is like taking a butter knife to a sword fight.

Straight Spin-N-Glos or Spinning/Flashing Cheaters are good offerings for this technique, but I love to put some bait on the hook to sweeten the deal — either roe or sand shrimp work well. Once you are rigged and have found a nice soft water edge, toss the rig out and make sure it stays anchored to the bottom. If not, add more weight or cast closer to shore. Then, use a stick or sand spike style holder for the rod. Some people like to put a bell on the rod to alert them when a fish bites. Plunking is a pretty social scene in a lot of places, so folks often get busy shooting the bull, listening to ball games and barbecuing — and forget to watch their rod tips!

Since by design, you will be fishing shortly after a high water event, be sure to check your rig frequently. There will still be a lot of junk coming down the river that can foul your gear.

By the way, if you’d like to see how all this is done in detail, along with everything you could ever want to know about catching steelies from shore, stay tuned as my new 6+ hour long video course, The Ultimate Guide to Steelhead Bank Fishing will be available later this month!

Okay, so plunking may not be as technically demanding as casting a dry line 100 feet or deciphering the subtle differences between a rock tap and a bite while side-drifting, but make no mistake about it, this is one deadly technique – particularly in high water.

And again, with plenty of high watwr to go around at the moment, let’s take a closer look at the nuts and bolts of plunking – only this time, from a slightly different angle. While the majority of plunking takes place from shore, there are some merits to doing it from a boat (“blunking?”…Sorry!). Click here to read more…

Buddy Shaw jetted up the Clearwater River from Lewiston, ID last Wednesday with his 4-year-old son and they teamed up for this sweet 26-pound spring Chinook.

Buddy said that he got his plunking rig (a Spin-N-Glo and a tuna ball) out into the water and then had to help Jr. with the Call of Nature in the woods. When they came back, the rod was pegged and he set up on the nice king. After a 20-minute battle, dad realized that he was going to have a tough time fighting and netting the fish at the same time so he talked the little man through the process. Obviously, the kid did a great job!

Good stuff!

For his efforts, Buddy is entered into our Hawg of the Month of the Contest, in which he has a shot at winning some Pautzke’s gear. Should he advance to the Hawg Bowl Playoffs later this year, Buddy could win a fishing trip for two with Bill Swanny Swann of Swanny’s Fishing. For his work with the net, Jr. better be invited on that trip!